Returning
by i.am.ruru-chan
Summary: After Sasuke refuses to return to Konaha, Sakura distanced herself from the world, claming that there’s no meaning to life if Sasuke is not with her. Naruto will prove her otherwise. NaruSaku. Various couples -in later chapters- Rating subject to change.
1. Because I love you

**Title:** Returning

**Chapter 1:** A given chance

**Genre:** Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Romance

**Rating:** T

**Paring:** SakuNaru

**Disclaimer:** I'm working on that, Kishi just won't give… sadly

**Warnings:** none

**By:** Ruru-chan

_Now, on with the story:_

* * *

Prologue:

Everyday appeared clouded in her world. The pain she had suffered since his departure had truly never left her. She was distant, she was lonely and broken. It had all been his fault, she could only blame him. He had hurt her to the point that she could not forget.

He had meant everything to her, but she was worthless to him. She refused to believe that, though, and she trained; she strained her-self, pushing harder and harder each and every day, so he could acknowledge her. Hopefully all her training would be good enough and she could help bring him back home. It had all been pointless in the end. Her efforts and Naruto's had all gone to waste when Sasuke refused to return, and was once again out of their reach. She never felt more useless and hurt. He had hurt them both, Naruto and her, and broken their hearts.

Naruto seemed to have accepted that Sasuke would never be a part of their lives again, and so, moved on. She had not. Sasuke had meant absolutely everything, she could not so easily forget. She had just loved him for so long that facing his permanent absence broke her down.

* * *

.: Chapter 1: given chance :.

* * *

"Why?" she silently asked her self, "Why wouldn't he return?..."

Sakura sat in the furthest corner of her room. She sat in the dark, acknowledging that it wouldn't have made the slightest difference otherwise. It had been roughly three months since they had returned home after their miserably failed mission. She had hardly moved from that spot since. Rarely getting up just to lay and mope in her bed. She wouldn't go out and she would scarcely eat. She only wanted to be alone and die soon. She considered she'd been doing a good job at it so far. Her medic experience told her as much. A few more months of this and she would reach her goal.

'This is taking too damn long.' she mused to her self.

She pondered for a second; she could always make the process quicker. A swift slash at her wrist, a pleasant overdose on soldier pills, heck, even an irrational hanging to end her life sounded rather nice. If it hadn't been for Naruto's obnoxious concern over her she would have ended her life a long time ago; he kept interrupting her every convenient time. Of course, he had no idea she wanted to take her own life. She couldn't do it, though, she admitted. Heh, even to this extent she was worthless. She couldn't even take her own god-dammed life.

Her train of thought was interrupted by sudden banging coming from the front door of her apartment. There he was again, with out fail. Naruto was at the door. He just wouldn't leave her alone. He was persistent in the entire meaning of the word. She ignored him. He would eventually leave, just like everyone else had. She knew her friends cared about her and they just wanted to help, but she didn't care. She wouldn't care for anyone if it wasn't _him_. She heard the knocking once again. Why couldn't he just give up already?

"Sakura, open the door; I know you're in there!" Naruto demanded from the other side of the door.

"Go away!" Sakura yelled.

She wasn't ready to face him. No, it wasn't that, she just couldn't face him. She felt week and stupid. Naruto understood her feelings exactly and had shared her pain. He was always there for her and refused to give up on her. It was shameful to admit how useless his efforts were, because she had already given up on herself. That's why she couldn't open the door. Naruto had been able to move on but she still couldn't.

"Sakura, I will break down this door if I have to! I've come here day after day and I'm getting tired of it!"

"Then give up already! I'm not going to open!"

Naruto furrowed his brow and frowned. This was getting annoying. Did she really believe that he would give up that easy? Had she forgotten who he was? It was not part of his character to simply give up on anything, especially her. He still loved her with all his heart and wasn't about to stand around and watch as she threw her life away.

"Sakura…" Naruto soften his voice. "Listen to me, Sakura; you can't keep doing this to yourself… don't give up like that…"

Sakura just sat and listened. It wasn't like it would make a difference if he encouraged her. She had already given up on herself. She didn't know what else to do. Everything meant nothing if _he_ was not here with her.

Naruto grew impatient at her lack of response. He franticly began to search for an opening around her apartment. If she wouldn't let him in, he would let himself in. Finally, he found a window open near her kitchen and crawled through it. Sakura shifted, just barely, when she felt his presence inside her apartment.

"Sakura let me help you. I've had enough; I don't want to see you like this anymore" Naruto calmly talked to her as he looked for her.

"Why, Naruto? Why can't you just let it go?" Sakura whispered under her breath trying hard to understand why he couldn't leave her alone.

"Because… I love you"

Sakura looked up to find Naruto standing in her bedroom doorway. He gave her a sweet smile but she turned away. He frowned. What could he do to make her happy? This was really getting tiring.

"Sakura-chan…" he spoke softly, Sakura only hugged her knees tighter.

"You are wasting your time Naruto… just forget about me, ok?"

Sakura couldn't accept him; not like this. He had been there all along, caring for her, and all she had done was hurt him. She didn't deserve him and he deserved better. Besides, she still loved Sasuke.

Naruto didn't say much, though. He knew his confession had been premature, but he wasn't about to let her go. He would always be by her side ready to help her when ever she needed. He would be there for her, and little by little, he would help her forget about Sasuke and get her to start noticing him.

Naruto turned and left the room and Sakura's eyes began to swell up with tears. Why couldn't she seem to stop hurting him? She allowed her sobs to escape her; it was getting harder to hold it in.

* * *

-

* * *

She wasn't sure how much time had passed since she had begun crying, but was suddenly aware that Naruto was back in her room. She looked up and watched as he approached her and knelled down to her level. He only gave her a cautious smile before he reached to wipe away her tears.

"I made you some ramen," he said, trying to project the warm care he felt for her, "let me help you to the bed so you can eat it."

Sakura conceded and allowed Naruto to help her up from the floor and across her room to her bed. Naruto place the steamy bowl on the nearest night stand and sat next to Sakura. Sakura made no effort to reach for the bowl. Naruto frowned and nudged her to edge her on. A small scowl marred her features and faced entirely away from Naruto.

"I'm not hungry." She stated. Naruto crunched his nose, she was being difficult.

Naruto took the bowl with his hands before picking up a few noodles and blowing on them lightly. He tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention. He gave Sakura a stern look.

"Sakura if you won't eat it yourself I will feed it to you. Now say: ahh." Sakura looked at him like he had lost his mind.

"Come on… ahh" Naruto requested inching the noodles closer to her mouth. Sakura had no choice but to take the noodles in her mouth.

Sakura swallowed slowly, embarrassed that Naruto was feeding her like she was an incapable child. Naruto reached down to scoop more ramen, but before he could, Sakura stopped him.

"I think I can feed myself." She said taking the chopsticks from his hands. Naruto grinned and carefully passed her the bowl convinced that she would eat it.

"You know, everyone misses you. Ino keeps asking me about you and Kakashi too. Hokage's been real worried about you; I had to convince her that you would be all right… even though I'm not sure my self." Naruto gave her a warm look as he hugged his legs Sakura listened quietly, "but I made a promise and now here I am."

Sakura paused. She hadn't thought about how her actions were affecting people. Especially her shishou, she was like her second mother. Now she felt guilty for being so selfish. She sighted loosing all interest on her food again.

"Oi, Sakura-chan… if you don't finish that I'm ganna be forced to shove it up your nose …" Naruto said so seriously that it almost didn't sound like a joke. Sakura threw him a disgusted look and rapidly took a bite from the floating beef in the ramen.

Naruto snorted at her actions "haha! I finally got a reaction out of you!" he said grinning side to side.

Sakura stopped and stared. She gave him a faint smile when she realized what he was trying to do. Naruto was really trying hard, just for her. Maybe there was more hope to her situation then she originally thought.

He didn't say much after that and just sat quietly and watched Sakura eat her ramen. She took her time to finish it but when she finished she placed the bowl on the night stand and hugged her knees once again. Small tints of red merit her cheeks. She was feeling self-conscious. Naruto had just_ sat_ there watching her eat the _whole_ time. There had been more to that though, something in the way he looked at her. Now, more than ever, she was feeling how much Naruto was a man.

She let out a small sight and tugged her hair behind her ear. Naruto just lay beside her with a thoughtful look on his face. He was quiet for a moment longer before he took her hand and laced his fingers with hers. The action surprised her, to say the least, but she didn't pull away. She just watched him as he observed her hand thoughtfully. Suddenly he spoke up.

"What did you ever see on that idiot? He's done nothing but hurt you…" Sakura was a little taken back but said nothing. Naruto sat up and she met with his gaze. "I don't think I can forgive him for that… just look at you"

"I-" Sakura wanted to say something, but Naruto silenced her by placing a finger on her lips. "It's true Sakura. Sasuke has done nothing but hurt you. If you give me a chance I can help you forget him and then you can start noticing me…"

Naruto slowly traced her lips. He slid a few fingers under her chin and tugged her closer until her lips met with his. Sakura froze entirely, shocked at what was happening. She was about to protest when he suddenly deepened the kiss carefully sliding his tong in her mouth. Much to her surprise she began to enjoy it. Gradually, Naruto pushed her down on her bed shifting his mouth to her neck. Sakura let out a small gasp when she felt a flick from his tong tickle a sensitive spot. Suddenly she was carefully pulled forward to meet Naruto in a possessive hug.

"Sakura … I swear to you; I will definitely make you love me back." Naruto whispered in her ear before tenderly kissing her lips.

Naruto removed him self from her and then entirely from her bed. Sakura was speechless as she watched Naruto make his way to her bedroom door. He reached fro the door knob but halted for a second before turning around to face her again. He had a wide but warm smile.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Sakura-chan!" he said and then left her room and finally leaving her apartment.

Sakura could only lay on her bed, almost half dreaming, pondering on what Naruto had said. She ran a hand down her neck and tenderly touched her lips with the other. She struggled to ignore the little feeling of butterflies skirmishing in her stomach. Naruto had kissed her and she had enjoyed it.

"What… just … happened?"

* * *

Whah... this story has been on my mind for a long-ass time now! i.M so happy i finally typed it down and am able to share it with everybody :)

As you can tell, i.M relatively new here... so please be gentle.

Review please: I do appreciate constructive criticism and would love to see what readers think of my writing and stories :)


	2. It could be called incest

**Title:** Returning

**Chapter 2:** you could call it incest.

**Genre:** Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Romance

**Rating:** T

**Paring:** SakuNaru, NejiHina

**Disclaimer:** Work in progress… kishi can only says 'no' for so long… -snicker-

**Warnings:** NejiHina scene here.

**A/N:** Please no flames.

I don't mind you telling me you don't like NejiHina…

Just don't tell me to go die or that I suck for liking NejiHina.

**Another note:** Sorry this was late, I meant to post

this up the 19th but due to some "issues" it was delayed,

but now it.S up and I hope you guys are happy :)

**By:** Ruru-chan

_Enjoy…_

* * *

.: Chapter 2: you could call it incest :.

* * *

Sakura got out of the shower and enjoyed the refreshing sensation before changing to a set of clothes she had place on a near counter in the bathroom. It was still early in the morning and she was at loss of what to do. It was almost a miracle that she was up. She wondered were she had gotten the strength to do so. She had slowly begun to fall back in to routine thanks to Naruto. It had been a few weeks since he had started coming to her apartment almost every day. Actually, she half expected for him to burst through her apartment door at any minute now. He had been doing that a lot lately. She didn't stop him from entering anymore, since she couldn't do much about it. He was trying hard to take care of her by keeping her company and making sure she was eating all her meals. So, she wasn't about to complain.

She wasn't sure how it had happened but she'd begun to get out of her apparent more often. It was only for little walks with Naruto to places where she didn't need to deal with people. There was the occasional incident where they would bump it to a friend and she would apologize for her, what she now thought as, selfish actions, but they would warmly greet her and express their feelings of relief. It surprised her that nobody radiated any hostility toward her, which she had somewhat expected. She was only glad that her friends were happy to see her.

Knocking suddenly caught her attention, but before she could get to the door, Naruto casually walked into her apartment.

"Morning Sakura chan!" he greeted, "oh yeah, I sortta took your spare key yesterday." Sakura merely narrowed her eyes at him as he sheepishly grinned.

"So, how ya feeling this morning?" he asked her. "Fine" she replied, more or less out of routine. Naruto pulled her into a hug. "That's good" he said and tenderly planted a kiss on her lips and she made no effort to push him away.

The occasional kiss from Naruto didn't surprise her any more. In fact, she didn't mind it. It had probably been something Naruto had said to her but subconsciously she knew she'd been getting tired of her self. Naruto had been right about her and she needed to forget Sasuke. She had realized how pathetic she had been. Brooding over someone who had never loved her, pathetic. So, she decided to give Naruto a chance. If Naruto could help her forget about Sasuke, she would allow him to do with her as he pleased. Even if she couldn't return his feelings she would allow Naruto to love her.

Sakura let herself get swallowed deeper into his hug; His warm arms, his gentle caresses, and the soothing beat of his heart. They all felt nice and she couldn't refuse them.

"Let's go for a walk today" he suggested and tugged at her arms. She didn't complain and simply fallowed him out the door.

* * *

-

* * *

Once again, it had only been a simple walk. Neither of them said much only enjoyed each others company. Sakura couldn't deny that it was somewhat comfortable. Naruto was always considerate during this walks and tried to keep his hyper-ness to a minimum level, which she appreciated. There was the occasional teasing from Naruto, when he would brush his hand against hers. It was hard for her not to blush but she was having a more difficult time understanding why she was reacting like that. It was not like she liked Naruto in that sense.

Their walk was longer than usual, though. They had stopped at several pleases were Naruto would buy a snack of some sort. A certain place they stopped by had been the Yamanaka flower shop. Naruto had bought her a simple flower and Ino had expressed how happy she was to see her. Sakura had been glad to see her best friend as well, not to mention she was surprised at how much she had actually missed her.

After their stop at the flower shop, Naruto took Sakura to the park. They sat under the willow tree that rested near the river. Sakura enjoyed the warmth she felt snuggled between Naruto's legs and arms. Situations like these made her realize how much he cared for her, how much he wished to protect her. It was also times like these that she felt like she could really learn to love him.

"Ne, Sakura-chan… Tsunade-sama really wants to see you. I'm thinking of taking you later." Naruto stated. Sakura thought about it for a moment and then decided with an 'un'.

Sakura snuggled closer to his embrace. She loved to do that lately; the beat of his heart was just too soothing. Naruto made a move to her hands, intertwining them carefully with his own. He buried his face neatly in on the crock of her neck, kissing the exposed flesh tenderly. He began to trail kisses up her neck when he was suddenly interrupted by some light giggles. He pulled back to look at Sakura but she only turned her head and look at him as well. The giggles had not come from either one of them.

"Neji-nii! Stop." They heard a soft voice shout before it giggled some more.

Naruto knew that voice and it couldn't belong to anyone else but Hinata. Out of curiosity, Naruto peeked behind the willow tree and Sakura did the same. To Sakura's surprise, she discovered Neji and Hinata feverishly making out against the tree. Naruto only grew a wide grin. Both Naruto and Sakura kept quiet embarrassed to interrupt the vigorous couple. They only watched them, wondering if Neji and Hinata would eventually notice their presence.

Unfortunately their presence did go unnoticed by the busy couple and their kissing session only got more intense. Naruto was finally forced to interrupt them when he realized Neji and Hinata wouldn't notice them any time soon. Naruto cleared his throat. The second he did that the cousins pulled away from each other almost like a reflex and looked around in a panic. Naruto let out a loud snort in amusement and allowed the couple to find him.

"Ne, Neji, try not to eat Hinata-chan. Ok?" Naruto joked. Neji only narrowed his eyes to glare at Naruto; there had been nothing comical about it in any way.

"Shame, shame, Hinata-chan… doing ecchi stuff with your cousin… again. What would your father do if he ever found out?" Naruto teased his friend.

"N-Naruto-kun! You wouldn't?!" Hinata panicked. Naruto laughed.

"Relax Hinata-chan… you know I could never do that to you." Naruto reassured her and she visibly calmed down letting out a sight of relief.

Sakura stood there; somewhat vexed at what she had just witnessed. What these two were doing… it could be called incest. She was speechless, needless to say. She had heard of intra-family marriages before, and knew it was not an all uncommon practice between the Hyuga. Still, it was weird. Though, it was more surprising to learn that it was Neji and Hinata who had such a relationship.

"Sakura-chan?" it had only taken a second for Hinata to notice that she was among them. Sakura gave her a small wave and a faint smile.

"Haruno-san…" Neji acknowledged her presences "It's a pleasant surprise"

"How have you been Sakura-chan?" Hinata asked out of caring kindness.

"I'm doing better" Sakura admitted.

All this time, Neji had been observing Sakura and Naruto. It was an unavoidable habit of his which he preferred to label as second nature. It was their intertwined hands that caught his attention, sparking inside him the smallest of curiosities. It was more out of this curiosity then interest that he suddenly found himself asking:

"Are the two of you in a relationship with each other?"

"You can say that." Naruto chose to answer and stole a quick kiss from Sakura.

"Aa." Neji recognized and Hinata congratulated them. Soon, though, she began to fidget. She had suddenly remembered something. "Neji-nii we have to go… father is expecting us to return soon and-"

"I understand." Neji politely interrupted her, recognizing the problem.

"Well, I was glad to see you again Sakura-chan. Naruto… I'm happy for you both." Hinata congratulated them again taking Neji's hand and bowing her goodbye. Neji respectfully nodded his departure.

The couple turned on their way and began to walk away but suddenly Hinata turned around. She quickly dashed to Sakura and took her hands in her own.

"Sakura-chan, there is something I need you to do for me" Hinata pleaded. A bit taken back, Sakura reluctantly nodded. "You must promise me you won't tell anyone about my relationship with Neji-nii!" Sakura wasn't sure why it mattered that much to Hinata but she lightly nodded letting out a small 'un'.

Knowing that she could trust her, Hinata smiled and quickly thanked her. She released Sakura's hands a moment after and made her way back to Neji. The couple said their goodbyes one last time before turning around and making their way back to the Hyuga district.

"Hinata-chan looks real happy, doesn't she?" Sakura didn't know the real motive behind Naruto's sudden question, and she recognized that he wasn't expecting an answer either but she answered him anyway… "un…"

* * *

hmmm… would you call this a 'filler'?

ok, that's all I could do for this week… I hope you like it so far and trust me, its going to get more interesting!

Bye, bye for now!:)

oh! tell me what you think! un!


	3. In search of

**Title:** Returning

**Chapter 3:** in search of…

**Genre: **Romance

**Rating:** T

**Paring: **NaruSaku

**Disclaimer:** things are not going how I planed … Kishi won't give in :(

**Warnings:** _shortest chapter yet….sorry. I cut it short _

_because I really felt the need to update. _

**A/N:** well, it's not for this chapter… just in general…

I have updates and the latest news posted up in

my bio, so don't forget to always check that out

**By:** Ruru-chan

_Continue to enjoy…_

* * *

.: Chapter 3: in search of… :.

* * *

It had been weeks… no, probably a couple of moths, since Sasuke had killed Orichimaru. Now he was on the roads, investigating, in search of any clues that would lead him to the whereabouts of his wretched brother and in all honesty he was getting tired. His brother had been spotted almost everywhere anywhere and nowhere. It was as if he had embarked on a wild goose chase. His deepest wish was to find him soon just to get everything over with and he knew his team mates secretly wished that as well. They would only take so much before they began complaining.

The team stood in front of a town's entrance, patiently waiting for their leader to decide if they would enter. This would be the seventh town they had stopped at in hopes of finding some useful information that would lead them to Itachi but lady luck seemed to be frowning at them lately. Once again it seemed nothing useful would come out of this town, just like all the others, but they had been searching non stop for the last three days. Sasuke knew his team mates were tired even if they didn't admit it. He decided it was about time to take a break. They would take refuge in this town. Something good could come out of it, he thought, but it wasn't likely. Sasuke frowned before he turned around to face the awaiting trio.

"We'll rest here for the next few days," Sasuke announced "keep your guard up and your ears open. Even the smallest information can be useful."

The trio nodded in unison understanding their duty before they fallowed Sasuke into town.

* * *

-

* * *

_Back in Konaha…_

Sakura and Naruto had been enjoying a good rest under the willow tree. It hadn't taken long for them to get back in the mood after Hinata and Neji had left, but now it was getting late and Naruto had noticed.

"I think it's about time I walked you home…" Naruto yawned, stretching in the process. Sakura nodded and Naruto helped her up.

Naruto began to walk in the general direction to her apartment, never letting go of her hand. She observed their clasped hands for a moment and somewhere in the pit of her stomach guilt began to stir. What she was doing was wrong… was she simply using her friend? The feelings he had toward her were raw and real and she, toward him… just earlier… wasn't she only build false hope for Naruto? She couldn't stand it! At this pace she would end up hurting Naruto and she didn't want that. After all he'd done for her... She wanted to pull away and end anything they had started, before it got out of hand.

"It's ok," Naruto squeezed her hand gently; he had felt her tense up and could imagine what could be going through her mind. "Sakura. As long as Sakura-chan is by my side…" his voiced was soft and Sakura couldn't understand. Why was he always so kind? Even if she ended up hurting him he acted like it wouldn't matter. Like he understood that he was being used but was allowing her to use him. "As long as you are by my side, I don't care…whether you love me or not, allow me to hold you."

Sakura couldn't hold it in much longer and allowed her tears to spill. She buried her face on his back. "I'm sorry" she whispered. Naruto didn't hesitate to pull her in front of him and hold her tightly in his arms.

"Don't cry Sakura-chan. This is something I decided. Sakura-chan shouldn't worry about hurting me because I already know…" he told her as he pulled away from her a little to look into her eyes.

"Naruto…I" Naruto didn't allow her to finished and cleaned away her tears not once braking their eye contact. Slowly, he leaned in to kiss her. He didn't care if she loved him or not but he would try his best and show her how much he lover _her_.

Sakura's mind ran blank. It was all too confusing and she just couldn't understand how much Naruto's kisses could affect her this way. Her every reaction was unexpected and surprised her. She couldn't understand why she seemed to enjoy his kisses more every time and how for a flat second she wished he would never stop. She didn't understand her sudden urge to respond to his every move. She painfully knew her heart still belonged to Sasuke and yet it seemed to beat faster for Naruto.

Naruto kissed her harder and the momentum of the kiss pushed them both against the tree, trapping Sakura in between. Naruto vigorously bit at her bottom lip, wishing for access and she allowed him. She threw her arms around his neck wanting to bring him closer. Slowly, her hands traveled up his neck so she could tangle her fingers in his soft blond locks of hair. She didn't care any more, if she still loved Sasuke, if she didn't, if she was beginning to fall in love with Naruto or not. She only wanted to enjoy Naruto's intoxicating kisses and feel his caring arms around her. She began to respond to his kisses with equal force and attempted to make them deeper.

"Stop..." Naruto suddenly whispered stopping his kisses all together. He leaning his forehead against hers and she could hear their heavy breathing.

"We should get going." Naruto said after sighting and took hold of her hand again. This time they really made their way to her apartment.

The whole time they made their way to her apartment Naruto had been quiet. He wasn't acting like his usual self and seemed more focused. Sakura was confused and wondered if she had upset him by suddenly responding to his kisses so boldly; he had suddenly stopped after that, right? He had wanted her to respond right? So why had he stopped? She didn't understand… but she had wanted him to keep going, his kisses, his kisses… his kisses.

Sakura leaned on his arm because at the moment it felt natural but she felt him tense up and he squeezed her hand lightly.

"Please don't do that Sakura-chan…" Naruto stopped to beg and swallowed lightly. This caught her by surprise and only confused her further. Had she done something wrong? Hadn't he said himself that he wanted this? She waited for Naruto to explain but he didn't say anything further and only tugged at her hand hauling her forward.

"We're here" Naruto announced once they were outside her apartment. "Bye Sakura-chan." he said before letting go of her hand and turning around but Sakura stopped him before he could leave. "Wait!" she said, taking a hold of his sleeve. "Don't you want to come in?" she asked rather troubled.

"I can't" Naruto said.

"Why?" Sakura asked.

Naruto only took hold of her hands and gave her a rather hot and steamy kiss. "It's for your own good." was the last thing he said before he disappeared with a teleportation jutsu.

Sakura just stood in front of her door trying to understand what Naruto had meant by that.

* * *

sorry once again about this late update and for its shortness. hope you like where this is going....

review please :)


End file.
